The overall purpose of this research is to investigate the origins and socio-cultural context of rape in human society using the anthropological tool of cross-cultural methodology. The research begins with the assumption that rape is not intrinsic to male nature, that like most other aspects of human behavior its incidence varies cross-culturally, and, hence, it is culturally and not biologically determined. Using a standard cross-cultural sample of 186 primitive societies developed by George P. Murdock and his associates the general objectives of the research will be: (1) to provide a descriptive profile of "rape prone" and "rape free" societies; (2) to present an analysis of the attitudes, motivations, and socio-cultural factors related to the incidence, types, and social treatment of rape; (3) to develop and test an integrated theory of rape in primitive societies. Rape prone societies are defined as those in which sexual assaults of men against women are socially recognized as different from normal heterosexual intercourse and occur with some frequency. Rape free societies are defined as those where rape is either very infrequent or does not occur. Selected hypotheses will be tested which have been proposed to explain rape in the U.S. Additional testable hypotheses will be derived from a general theory of rape which is an outgrowth of my current work on the origins and consequences of sexual inequality. The data will be collected from the Human Relations Area Files.